One More
by hundan
Summary: You can't change what you regret, the best you can hope for is one more chance. Tiva One-shot.


**This is a small one-shot I randomly came up with the other day, and I'm surprised I did a one-shot; my stories always seem to want to be long. Please enjoy this story and it would be fantastic if you could tell me what you thought. Hundan**

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><p>'<em>You can't change what you regret, the best you can hope for is one more chance'<em>

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><p>He found her sitting at her favourite bar later that night. She was upset because of him, because he accidentally told her he missed her.<p>

They had been having a good time at his, watching a movie together like they did sometimes and he couldn't help it when she gave him a certain smile and stared in his eyes, he told her, he told her he missed her. She had excused herself and left after that. How could he be so stupid?

And he didn't miss how she flinched right now when he sat down next to her, she knew who it was. She always could feel his presence.

"Ziva?" he asked quietly. He wanted to know why she had run off earlier, he had a fair idea but he wanted to hear it from her. She didn't face him when she replied.

"I am here because I wanted to be alone" was all she replied. He watched as she took another sip of her drink, most likely something alcoholic. Something to help escape.

"You didn't have to run off like that you know" he stated, motioning to the bartender to get him a drink. When he looked back at her she was looking down at her glass and her finger slowly moved around the rim.

"I did" she replied. All he wanted to do was meet her eyes with his; he could always understand her when he could read her eyes.

"Why Ziva? Why do you always have to run away when things are too much for you to handle?" he asked. And then she turned and faced him. Her eyes were a mixture of upset and anger.

"I do not always run away" she explained. He knew she was lying; she was the one to run away from him all those years ago.

"That's a lie and you know it. I tell you I miss you and you run" he replied. Her eyes flickered away from his.

"I cannot do this Tony, I cannot do this again" she stated. When her eyes were brought back to his he felt himself pain at how upset they looked.

"Why Ziva? A lot has changed, we are not like we used to be" he explained. When the barman gave him his drink he didn't feel like drinking it anymore.

"Exactly Tony we have changed, it will not work how it did before. It never really did work in the first place" she replied, taking another long drink this time. She turned away from him then, not looking at him.

"Ziva will you look at me?" he pleaded. He hated when she looked away.

"Tony I will not let it happen again, it was too hard for me last time. I cannot be broken like I was again" she replied, still avoiding his eyes. He put his hand on her shoulder and turned her to look at him.

"Ziva you're the one who broke it off in the first place" he exclaimed. She slowly pushed his arm off her shoulder.

"They knew Tony and my father would have taken me right back to Mossad if it had continued" she explained. When Officer Bashan had shown her those photos of Tony visiting her apartment once a week she knew Mossad was watching her.

"Since when did you care what he really thought? You left because you were scared, it was getting serious and you bailed" he replied. He knew if she had really wanted to stay with him she would have continued but she had left him and he knew it was because they were getting serious.

"Gibbs and his rules were back it could not have gone on" she said. He was upset that she kept trying to blame it on everything she could think of.

"Stop it. Stop lying to me for once Ziva. You know I would have kept you here no matter what your father tried, and Gibbs left so it wouldn't be up to him if our relationship would be aloud or not" he explained. He watched her look down at her lap and sigh.

"Ok I was scared, alright? But sometimes there are decisions made that you may regret later in life but you move on, you get over what you had done in the past" she stated. He brought his hand to her chin and softly lifted her gaze to his.

"Ziva I want to have another chance at this. You're always on my mind and I care so much about you, I don't want to regret our past" he stated gently.

"I can't, we can't-" she began before he cut her off.

"Yes we can and you know it" he replied. Her eyes were still not sure.

"All this time I've been rejecting your love because I know it's not for the best and you want me to change that? You know I am not good at change Tony, I do not think I can do this" she replied. Her eyes were honest and god damn her father for making her work the way she does, he taught her not to change the way she worked so she could be his best solider. He wished that Ziva had a normal childhood sometimes, it was so hard for her to face emotions and he knew that from experience. Not that he was much better with his emotions anyway but at least he knew how to try, she was never taught how to try.

"Ziva I want you to try, please just try for me" he pleaded. He couldn't get her off his mind. Day in and day out he would think about her. It wasn't healthy for him and he knew it but he couldn't help it, he needed her. He felt her lean into him then and his hand, out of reflex, came up to the side of her waist.

"I cannot promise it will be easy, you know what it was like last time, but I can promise I will try my hardest to make this work" she whispered against his neck as her forehead dropped to his shoulder. He knew that last time she had trouble opening up about things and they would sometimes fight, but in the end they were happy together. They completed each other.

He also knew that no matter how ninja-kickass-assassin she was she was someone who needed to be held once and a while, she relaxed in the touch of someone she trusted. She trusted him. It's what she was doing right now. And even though the barman was giving him a weird look Tony didn't care much, he held her tightly to his chest and brought his arms around her back.

"You know that's all I ask for" he whispered into her curls. She slowly turned her face into him and he felt her eyelashes flutter against the skin of his cheek.

"I am glad you are a persistent man" and he felt her smile against his cheek.

"I'm always persistent when I know there is a second chance I can have" he replied, holding a smile of his own. On her own in matters of everything else but love Ziva David was independent and strong. She had been raised like that. But when it came to the matters of the heart he knew she struggled, and he was there for her to help that. She had never been taught how to love, it was forbidden by her father at a young age.

He knew this and he knew that to show her emotions she needed someone to show her how to love. And that was him; he was determined to be that person.

He turned his face slightly and his lips brushed the corner of her mouth. When it did he felt her hand crawl across his neck. Simply he knew how to make her react, he knew what she needed, he knew _her._ Her lips moved across until they met his, kissing him gently. He missed this. He missed her. And now he could have that again.

Those months when Gibbs was gone they had grown strong together, they had bonded and they had shared themselves. That first night he made love to her would forever be in his memory, and he would never let it go it was that dear to him. She was dear to him. To his heart. Because he couldn't help but loving her and no matter what he had regretted in the past with her, he would always try for one more chance with her. She was permanently stained into his heart.


End file.
